Goals and WIPS

I know, I have so many WIPS it's not even funny. I started 2 new crochet projects on top of it. I'm making another belt for Rachy (coz I wanted to experiment with the fuzzy yarn). I also started a teddy bear. I'd REALLY like to learn how to do arugumi. This is what I'm making http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/justGifts.html?noImages= I also joined a bunch of new Ravelry groups, one of which is called "Only Half A Skein" and i'm SOOO excited about it. I do really, REALLY want to finish my red shirt though. I got some adorable sheets at DI that would make an adorable shirt for me and matching one for Juliana w/ fabric to spare. I also found another sheet at another DI that has never been used and is going to make some BEAUTIFUL cloth napkins for Rachel for her birthday. She doesn't what I plan on doing to them, though and I dont want to put it here, just in case.

Also, some good news. REmember my post about how it costs money to save money? Roger and I did something smart. WE got a personal loan to pay off the rest of our credit cards, our hospital bills, cancel our phones, and get caught up on bills. It'll be so nice to be paying 9% interest rate instead of 29%! We can finally afford to SAVE money. Talk about relief!

Pictures

Just thought I'd share some photos I took this morning of my kids

Anyway, enjoy my beautiful children. I am SO lucky they let me take pics of them today!!!

A Kitten Picture

Our cat had kittens on my birthday. I tried to take pics, but Penny wanted all the attention. Here's what I did get.

Just thought I'd share! I think the white one is a girl. If it is, we're naming her Libby and keeping her. If we end up keeping a boy, we'll probably name him Desmond. 10 Points if you get why (our cat's name is Penny)

Gilmore Girls = Gitmore Done

i'm watching Gilmore Girls for the 1st t ime. My friend has the whole series. I watched the first DVD doing laundry the other day, then put the second on last night. I got FIVE painted letters done!

Hey, has anybody ever made a truffle cake? I think I want to make one. However, they call for springfoam pans (which Alton Brown thinks shouldn't even exist). I'll use whatever he suggests, I'll have to dig out my book......

Another tag and LOTS of pictures

Apparently Jeanette tagged me a while ago and i didn't notice till now. I'm SUCH a bad friend!! So I'll start with that. Her tag was a picture tag. So here goes:

Name: Robyn Mears Fish


(I'm on the left)

Born: Cottonwood HOspital


but that's not where I grew up. I grew up  in Oakdale, California, where our crowning jewel is the Hershey Factory.... which may have been closed down to open a new plant in Mexico. Who knows? I haven't been there to even visit for 3 yrs

Favorite Color:
I actually have 3
Orange, Pink, and Brown


http://www.flickr.com/photos/sofiakatariina/1387814232/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrysti/2250223529/

Favorite City:
That one's really hard! I've been to a lot of cities. I really did like Nauvoo, though.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/9354942@N03/2686053889/

Places I want to visit:
I know this sounds kinda lame, but they're all restaurants
1.  Four Seasons (I don't care where)
2. Moto (Chicago, IL- they do a bunch of high -tech stuff like edible menus)
3. Mesa Grill- preferrably in NY
4 Serendipty, NYC- for their frozen hot chocolate

1. Holiday decor at the Four Seasons George V, Paris, France, 2. "cotton candy", 3. Mesa Grill, 4. Serendipity 3_Frozen Hot Chocolate

Bad Habit: Chocoholic- I use chocolate to ease stress, boredeom, and any other excuse i come up with
side note- if you click on the links, I don't like all the ingredients, I just liked the pictures. A lot.

1. squares, 2. Give Someone A Big Kiss, 3. calce e mattoni - bricks and cement, 4. special brownies, 5. coffee and chocolate mousse cake, 6. Chocolate Chip Muffins Step_5_READY TO EAT, 7. Happiness (thanks to JustLeaf ;D), 8. Truffelicious Delicious by Bonnie, 9. Cadbury Milk Chocolate

Favorite Animal:
Golden Lion Tamarin


http://www.flickr.com/photos/globalwanderer/914046079/

Past Love: Well, I could tell you who my first love was, but we won't go there.

First Job:

J. Haidlen Design- I don't have any pics on the computer. :( It was an Interior Design Firm, I just helped out here and there. They gave me a scholarship as well.

Current Job: SAHM/ sort of photographer

Ok, I tag Kristin (hehe, again, I know), Raini, and Allison

Roger's turn

K, that  collage I did- we're doing one for Roger coz he's cool like that! And because I was irritated that everything changed on mine.

The questions:

1. What is your first name? Roger
   


2. What is your favorite food? BBQ ribs
   
   


3. What high school did you attend? Kearns High School
   


4. What is your favorite color? Blue
   
   


5. Who is your celebrity crush? Evangaline Lilly
   
   


6. What is your favorite drink? Vitamin Water
   
   


7. What is your dream vacation? Caribbean Cruise
   
   


8. What is your favorite dessert? Fudge Brownie
   
   


9. What do you want to be when you grow up? a good landscaper
   
   


10. What do you most love in your life? the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
    
    


11. One word to describe you. dedicated
    
    


12. Your yahoo name. stinkyfishtank

1. Masters Series - Coupe Rogers, 2. Star Wars Cooking Team Adjusting Ribs in Smoker for Best Possible Smoke Penetration, 3. Home Of The Cougars, 4. When Waves Collide, 5. Evangaline Lilly, 6. orange splash, 7. Home for the Holidays, 8. Thick Mint Brownies, 9. Dewstow Gardens Pond - Photographers paradise, 10. After a Storm, 11. Raising the 2nd flag on Mount Suribachi, 12. 20G Reef Tank

I stole this

I was at Kristin's blog and clicked on the name of someone who left a comment and went and checked out her blog. Her blog is called Boyish Charm. One of her posts was this cool question thing. You answer the questions by typing in the answer    on flickr and using whatever picture comes up first. Actually, I didn't always take the first picture. A dog is not a good representation of orange! And why pick the first pic that came up under my high school name when 2 pics down was an actual photo of my high school. So I improvised a little.  I hope you don't mind that I borrowed this, I thought it was pretty cool! ETA: When I went and re-searched the things on flickr, the pics were not what I had on here. It almost made me sad on some of them!
So here's mine

1. Robyn Weeping Willow, 2. Baked Ziti from my "Sneaky Chef" Cook Book, 3. Oakdale High School, 4. Aceh sunset, 5. Leonardo Dicaprio, 6. Strawberry Milk Splash, 7. Tour Eiffel Snack Bento, 8. My Yummy Heart.., 9. بــحـط قــلـبـي بــيـن يــديـنـك هــديـه, 10. Not available, 11. wham:a different corner, 12. Urban

The questions:

1. What is your first name? Robyn
   


2. What is your favorite food? Baked Ziti
   
   


3. What high school did you attend? Oakdale High School
   


4. What is your favorite color? Orange
   
   


5. Who is your celebrity crush? Leonardo DiCaprio (he hasn't always been, but he is now)
   
   


6. What is your favorite drink? Strawberry Milk
   


7. What is your dream vacation? A food tour of the US
   
   


8. What is your favorite dessert? milk chocoalte. In almost any way shape, or form
   
   


9. What do you want to be when you grow up? A great mom
   
   


10. What do you most love in your life? My family (that one didn't work. It's this pic here)
    
    


11. One word to describe you. Different
    


12. Your flickr name. imafishtank
    

Something Special

Yes, I'm fully aware that it is only August. However, I need to make two or three extra extra special Christmas gifts for this year (one of them also has a bday in October, so I need to add that in there too).

The first gift is for my mom. Kristin gave me a few really, really good ideas that I am really toying with for her. One was a book w/ letters from people who love her. I like that idea, but it makes me nervous having to rely on other people to get stuff done on time. I think I might hold off on that one till her bday in June. Another idea we talked about was a tablecloth/runner/placemat/napkin set. I love that idea too, but she deserves amazing fabric, so I'm going to keep my eye out for some kickin sheets to turn into that set.  Kristin sent me an email w/ a link to an apron pattern. It makes me feel silly for not thinking of an apron before. How neat would that be if I could actually pull off a GREAT apron for my mom? One that says, "I know how much you adore the kitchen, how cooking is your therapy. Thank you for the years of care, comfort, and of course, food you've given me. I couldn't have done it without you." It just seems the perfect thing for her. An apron. Yes, I think I"ll make my mom an apron. A GOOD apron.
This is my mom:

Next on the list is Rachel. Rachel and I were roommates in college. We hung out more than I did w/ any of my other roommates (because she came w/ me to Roger's house). After college we'd talk a little, but not often. Then she got married and had a baby and since then, we have been SUPER close. Roger and her hubby, Jerry, get along AMAZINGLY, her little boy is Juliana's age, and now we live in the same time. They've saved our butts on more than one occasion and just take care of us. So, I need TWO special gifts for Rachel. One for her birthday in October and one for Christmas. Any ideas? Last year for her birthday I made her a bag and matching headband. That so doesn't seem like ENOUGH anymore. I've thought of possibly crocheting and/or sewing a SLEW of belts for her (she loves belts). I've also toyed w/ the idea of printing a bunch of pics of her son and framing them, but I just don't have the money for that. What do you give someone who has given you things that you can't even express how much they mean to you?
This is me and Rachel:

I also have a few other very important people in my life I'd like to make some gifts for, but I'm not giving any details because I know a few of them check this blog, tehehehe. So, if you're one of them and you know it, just pretend you didn't read this part. ;D

Any ideas are great. I'm so excited for Kristin to put her lists up because there will be awesome ideas on there. Right now she has a list of stuff for kids that I will DEFINITELY be pulling from and you'll totally hear about it eventually.

Our Ogden Weekend Adventure

This weekend we had QUITE the adventure. The plan: stay at Hubbard House Inn (a bed and breakfast) Friday night, play Saturday, go to Pepperbelly's Sat night. Weeeeelllll..... it wasn't quite that simple. Oh, first I must explain that this was a couples weekend. Roger and I had to bring Vaughn, obviously, but we also went with Rachel and Jerry. When we called and made the reservations, we asked about getting 2 rooms on Friday night. So we get there and the lady was SO super nice, showed us into our super beautiful and clean room with a huge jetted tub and a really cool tile/mural on the wall. We hang out and wait for Rachy and Jerry. They get there, then go up to the house to register. Half an hour later they came back w/ bad news. When the reservations were made, SOMEHOW (nobody is sure how) only one room was written down. There wasn't room for both of us to stay. Since the whole point of the weekend was to have some cool time together (yes, that means playing cards). Anyway, the people were so nice and understanding and didn't charge us for our room. I totally would love to stay there sometime. Anyway, we called a gajillion hotels around to see if any had two rooms available for a reasonable price. We found one place called Budget Inn that was only $40 a night. What a deal! So we drove to Budget Inn. We didn't stay long enough to see any more than the very very torn up pool and scary looking outside.

We drove back a block to Ogden Lodge (I think). It was across the street from the temple and had a pool intact. So Rach and Jerry went in to pay and then we went up to our room. I have one word....eww! It was a non-smoking room, but smelled like stale smoke. It was scary looking and icky feeling. It made my throat hurt. Jerry went and told the guy we had changed our mind. The guy came up to look at the rooms and looked mighty irritated at us. He still gave Jerry a refund and then we headed out. The guy watched us as we got into our cars and left. CREEEEEEPY!!!!! Both Rachel and I had tummy aches from that room.

We remembered seeing a Days Inn earlier, so we decided to try that. We also decided that we wanted to see a room before we committed. Just the lobby made us feel better. They were totally nice about letting us go see the room. The pool area was GORGEOUS, the rooms were clean, it was like breathing new air. We were so excited, so we said OK to those rooms REALLY quickly! Then we went to Dee's for dinner. That was interesting- Vaughn had a stinky bum and there were no changing tables. Then we realized that the diapers were in the van anyway. (the van was parked next door at the hotel).

We went back to the hotel and went swimming. We only swam for 20 minutes, but can I just tell you- it was SO much fun! After swimming was done (Vaughn was crying and the pool was closing), we went back up to the rooms. Everyone got comfy then we got together and played Hand and Foot. Normally there are 5 rounds, but we only made it for 3 rounds, LOL. Roger and I won, btw!

After a good nights rest, we enjoyed a continental breakfast, then headed to the mall. Roger and Jerry went to see the Dark Knight (which neither of us girls wanted to see) and Rachel and i went to see Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (which neither of the guys wanted to see). We all had fun and enjoyed our time.
 

THen it was time to split. Rachy and Jerry went for alone time and Roger and I headed to Todd and Mara's. Todd and Roger had been best friends (with Tony, also) since they were babies. They grew up in the same neighborhood and were very close. After hanging out there for like... 3 hours, I think? we all went to Pepperbelly's. That was the reason for the whole trip. Rachy and I were roommates down at Snow and went to Pepperbelly's a lot. That's also where Roger and I had our first date. Unfortunately, the Ephraim Pepperbelly's closed. So we decided to make a trip out of the one in Kaysville. Sydney and Adam came too (also from Snow) as well as Todd and Mara (who went to Snow w/ us but had, criminally, never been to Pepperbelly's). It was so nice to have a group of us from Snow eating food together that we remembered most from Snow.

After dinner, all of us (except Todd and Mara) went to a nearby park where I got to try out the timer on my camera!

Anyway, then we came home to find our crazy kids at Grandma's house (they had spent the night at Jennifer's, but got dropped off at Mom & Dad's)


Anyway- I just want to publicly thank everyone who made this weekend possible. You don't know how much it means to me. I love you!!!!
(oh and I got to work on my sweater/skirt a lot this weekend soon. Expect pics soon!)

GRRR- venting

Why is it that in order to save money you have to spend it? The reason I want to save money is because I don't have any! Hello!

Examples of what I'd like to do right now to save money but can't because I can't afford it?

1)Cell phones: we'd like to drop ours and get a cheaper one, or an emergency one. But at $175 per line to drop- no can do!

2)Cloth Diapers: I have a few and decided I love them during the day (I still use disposables at night and when we're not home). But at $13 a diaper for some kinds or $8.00/yard of PUL to make my own covers, I can't afford the supplies or anything to accommodate for the growth spurt Vaughn just had.

3) Student Loans: You know how nice it would be just to pay them off? But we have to keep putting them on forbearance. By the time we've paid Roger's $20,000 worth of student loans off (in 20 years) that $20,000 will have turned into $50,000. Nice, huh? He has to get a second job to pay for the education that he got for the first job! Ridiculous!

4) Water Softener: You go through SO much less detergent and soap (according to the salesperson) but I can't pay $30 a month!

Sorry. I'm done venting. If you have any other suggestions, esp for the diaper issue, I'd appreciate it.

Book Review and Thank You

First of all, I want to thank Kristin for my birthday package. I am SO excited. She knows my favorite color is orange and that package was full of it. She sent me some WAY cute fabric, some arm warmers, and a super duper adorable diaper bag! Thank you MUCHO my dear friend!

Alright, I got a bunch of books from the library this last week and have been slowly reading and exploring them.

The first one is called Second Time Cool by Anna-Stina Linden Ivarsson, Katarina Brieditis, and Katarina Evans.
It's about what to do with a sweater. There's some history, some runway examples, and some project ideas. One thing that I liked (and hated at the same time) was that the insructions weren't absolute. It gave the idea and pretty much a hint of how to, but left the rest up to you.

Fish Grade: B

Second book is called Reconstructing Clothes for Dummies by Miranda Caroligne Burns

When I first started reading it (yes reading the words) I was LOVING it. She is a great writer, has some good points and is funny. Then I got to the projects.... um..... Have any of you ever seen anybody wear a shirt with the top of pants coming out of it? No. Out of all the projects, there was only one I'd do in there. And I'd be changing a lot too. I was so dissapointed! Here all this clever writing and it's mixed with these projects that I don't see any person ever wearing! Oy!

Fish Grade: D- (It's already back at the library where I got it)

Third book is called Rip IT by Elissa Meyrich. There are very few actual pictures in the book, lots of cartoony pics, but that doesn't really matter. I didn't like ALL the projects, but definitely more than the other two books I just reviewed. Most things in this book are wearable. The instructions made sense, most of the projects are cute, and I actually did one! My skirt!

Fish Grade: A-

I need help

OK, I'm doing a little research here and I want honesty, please, that's why its research.

So I made this little I Spy book for my kids w/ actual photos, kinda like the real books, but w/ their own toys and things of mine. They like it so much that I've thought of selling it. BUT I don't want to invest the money it'll take TO sell if it's not going to. SO... are I Spy Books (17 puzzles) something you'd be interested in? How much would you be willing to pay for something like that? The pages are 4x6 each

Happy Birthday to ME!

First, my dear sweet friend Kristin gave me an award over at her blog, Reclaiming the Home

Soo,... in following the rules of the award, which looks like this


here goes:
Here are the rules for the award:

1. Put the logo on your blog;

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you;

3. Nominate at least seven other blogs;

4. Add links to those blogs on your blog; and

5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

1. Jeanette over at Keep Me In Stitches is an inspiration to me because she encourages all my new endeavors. She's also an amazing friend. THanks for your support!

2. Jen Leheny at Red Instead is an amazing seamstress- pretty much the seamstress that I hope to be after some practice!

3. Beth at Lula Louisebecause it was HER tutorial that helped me make a shirt that got me so pumped about sewing!

4.  My amazing Allison who just rocks at everything she does.

5. Karin at Nordic Craft because  she's a girl of my own heart- loves to craft and wants to share it. She's got some great stuff on her blog!

6.  Lisa at Isby Blue because somehow she juggles even more kids than I do and is super amazing at all her projects.

7. Amy at  New England Quilter because she's incredible at all the stuff she does and is pretty cool to help, too!

Alright, on to the post about my Birthday. So, for my bday, DH got me Breaking Dawn- I'm still at the beginning, so don't spoil it for me! He gave me much more than that, though. He stayed home from work with the kids so I could go play. My dear friend Rachel spoiled me ROTTEN on my bday. First we went and got manicures and pedicures. Then she took me to her hairdresser to get the sidebangs I've been wanting for forever! THEN we went to this store in Magna where nothing's over $5.99 and we got 9 shirts between us (we share clothes). To top it off she invited us over and we had pizza at her house for dinner. Thank you Rachel, I totally needed that!

 
This is me wearing one of the new shirts.

Shameless Show-Off

Ok- you know how I want to become a better seamstress? Well, I've decided that I'm in love with reconstructing clothes as WELL as regular sewing. I figure it's a great way to practice, increase my wardrobe, and do my part.

SOOOO.... I went to the library yesterday and got a bunch of books. If you know me at all, you know that I'm not patient and I want to do things RIGHT NOW, but I was at my mom's house..... So as soon as I got home, I found a pair of jeans that fit around the waist, but happened to be those ever-unflattering tapered legs. Combined w/ ribbon and a shirt I used to wear all the time, here's what I've got now!


And  to sweeten the deal, my nieces were at my mom's when I went to the library, so when my SIL came to pick them up, I asked her if she had any clothes that needed to go to DI and when she did could I have them? She let me know that she had a few bags in the trunk on their way. They were exactly what I needed. 3 of the shirts actually fit me and look cute as is!

On top of everything- today is my birthday and I think we're going shopping! Without my older 2 kids! So i might not sew much today. Between the fun stuff planned and the fact that my husband bought me Breaking Dawn.....

Oh, and I was honored to see that Jen Leheny at http://www.jenleheny.com came over to visit my blog. One thing I love about my blog is that it's all about inspiration. I LOVE seeing what people have done similar or with the same idea as mine. I love seeing links and pictures to other people's works of art. And to me, NOTHING makes my day more than inspiring someone. It gives me a natural high. So THANK you for your comments and totally- I want to see your ABC book!

WIP update

Ok, I finished the block (like I said, it was sewing one straight line)
I also did most of the duvet cover. The blanket I'm putting inside of it is at my friends house right now. I'm actually going to sew it inside and tie it so it's a new blanket altogether.

Also- last night I started an ABC book for Juliana for Christmas. I got the inspiration here. Her drawings are STUNNING and beautiful. My paintings are very elementary and a little on the cheesy side, but hey, she won't care, right? Here's what I have so far

Well- I am going to my mom's tomorrow and I *hope* we can figure out her serger so I can finish my shrug the easy way. Otherwise I have to do real sewing *yikes*! Wish me luck. ANd keep posting your WIPS here or on the flickr group.

WIP it, WIP it good

Today I need to work on some WIPs. Mostly so I can get started on Christmas gifts.

Here are my WIPs:

Red Peasant Shirt (sewing, elastic)
Rattle Block (sewing one side closed)

Aprons (1 for each of the older kids- just needs to be sewn)

Duvet Cover (everything, but it's just a simple sew)
Old Sweater Shrug (Hemming, adding a button and a button hole)

Alright, WIP with me? Then post links to your blog or picture to share! You can also join in here

I finally did it!!!

I made a shirt today! I found THIS tutorial and decided, what the heck, why not? So I grabbed some material. Now- I know better than to do first time clothes with anything but regular cotton. But all I had was this fairly heavy silky/polyesterish- I don't know what it is exactly. So I thought, eh, if it doesn't work, I"ll use it for a skirt for Juliana eventually. I followed the tut prety much, then went to try it on. It was a tent. I looked like an old lady that owns 25 cats and lives in a dump. It was awful! Nothing wrong w/ the tut, I just used WAY too much fabric was all (I didn't measure everything exactly). So I decided to take it in and after taking it in like 3" on each side...... still a tent! So I went upstairs and asked Roger to do some pinning where I wanted it to fit. He did and I sewed up the adjustments. I bought some ribbon tonight to use for a belt (I have some D-rings here at home I need to spray paint gold). I've been wearing the shirt since like 3PM but every time I passed a mirror something just didn't sit well. I don't know if it's the line straight down the middle.... DH and BFF said that it was cute and I don't *think* they'd lie to me. Tonight it hit me though- it was the neck. There's so much fabric between my neck and my breasts that they look saggy to me. So I think soon I"m going to adjust the neckline. Either square it, v it, or scoop it. I just need a little less fabric there.
Anyway- here it is- I'm very proud of myself!

You can't see, but there's kind of darts on the side so it's tighter by my breasts and looser by my waist.

Also, I made a couple hand-painted cards last night.